Shock resistant container



Jan. 15, 1952 J. K. M. HARRISON SHOCK RESISTANT CONTAINER Filed June 24,194'.

Willi Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES eaTENT OFFICE.

SHOCK RESISTANT CONTAINER John Kearsley M. Harrison, Gainesville, Va.

Application June 24, 1947, Serial No. 756,662

8 Claims This invention relates to containers and particularly tononmetallic containers of the type used for the packaging of liquidssuch as oils or foodstuff.

In the design of containers made of plastic, paper or other nonmetallicmaterial the principal problems presented are the maintenance of anadequate cost margin over metal containers together with the attainmentof such objectives as mechanical strength, adequate resistance againstleakage of liquid from the container, adequate resistance againstleakage of moisture into the container, and ease of access to thecontainer contents.

Toward the attainment of the foregoing objectives much effort has beenexpended and many forms of paper containers are now available incompetition with metal containers of like capacity. With the advent ofnew liquid-proof plastic materials, the problem of leakage through thewalls of nonmetallic containers has been to a large extent solved.However, the problem of mechanical strength has not been heretoforesolved in any inexpensive manner which is consistent with commercialrequirements regarding resistance to leakage at the seams between theend closures and the remainder of the container.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a nonmetalliccontainer for the Shipment and storage of liquid materials which ischaracterized by a simple and inexpensive type of construction which isvery resistant to mechanical shock and which wholly prevents outleakageof the contents of the container and inleakage to those contents whileaffording a closure which may be easily broken when desired to gainaccess to the contents of the container.

It is contemplated, according to this invention, to provide anonmetallic container having an end structure characterized by aflexible portion and a rigid portion ccacting to provide adequate sealsand high resistance to rupture-incident to rough handling or othermechanical strain.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof in conjunction with the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in vertical section of one end of a cylindricalcontainer constructed in accord ance with the teachings of the presentinvention; and

Figure 2 is a view partially in vertical section and partially inelevation illustrating one of the steps in an assembly of a container ofthe type shown in Figure 1.

Now referring to Figure l in greater detail, the container consists of acylindrical body portion III of which only the upper portion is shown inthe drawing. It is contemplated that the lower or unshown end of thecontainer will be provided With a closure either of the type shown inconjunction with the top closure in Figure l, or of some other typeknown to the art.

The upper closure for the body portion I 8, which is shown in Figure 1,is comprised of a flexible disc I I of laminated parchment, cellophane,or the like having an integral annular flange I2 extending toward theend of the container, a rigid closure disc I3 and a rigid cover disc [4.

The flexible closure disc II has an over-all area in excess of the crosssectional area of the container body at the plane arb indicated in thedrawing, so that the disc I'! may flex in response to pressuredifferences thereacross. The disc I! is inserted in the cylindrical bodyIS in the manner shown in Figure 2. An annular zone It adjacent the endof the cylindrical body I0 is coated with a suitable adhesive and thenthe disc I I is forced through a dye l5 by a plunger I6 and is pushed tothe position indicated in Figure 1. The plunger deforms the marginalportions of the disc II to form the flange l2 and likewise displaces theadhesive to form an annular sealing fillet at Ii, see Figure 1. Itshould be noted that the end of the plunger I6 is convex so that theportion of the disc II which extends across the container body will havean area slightly in excess of the cross sectional area of the body.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the disc I l is held in positionby the adhesive and is put into position as the first step in effectingthe endclosure. After the disc II has been placed in position a rigidclosure disc I3 is inserted and this disc is wedged in overlyingrelation to the flange I2 of the disc II. The disc I3 is slightly frustoconical and is inserted with its face of minimum diameter extendinginwardly toward the center of the container. As it is pushed into placeits margin exerts a wedging action on the flange i2 and serves tosupplement the adhesive in holding that flange against the wall of thecontainer. After the disc I3 is in position, the end of the container isspun over at I8 to hold the disc I3 in position. In View of the factthat forcing the disc I4 in position might create sufficient airpressure to rupture the disc II, disc I3 is provided with a ventaperture at l9 so that air trapped between the discs I l and I3 duringthe insertion of the disc I 3 is permitted to escape.

After the disc I3 has been placed in position and the spun over portionsl8 have been formed, a waterproof cover disc I4 is wedged in positionoverlying the disc I3 and is held marginally by the spun over portion58. The disc I4 is impregnated with a waterproofing material and formswith the spun over portions I 8 a very tight flt at annular zone 20.This fit, together with the waterproofing character of the disc 14,prevents contamination of the contents of the container by in-leakingwater. Out-leakage of the contents of the container is prevented by thedisc I! and the sealing fillet [7. If the container is dropped orotherwise subjected to rough handling, the gas trapped in the spacebetween the flexible disc H and the rigid disc I3 is compressedmomentarily to act as a resilient cushion preventing permanentdisplacement of the rigid parts of the end closure and protecting thecontainer against shock damage.

l/Vhile the invention has been described with respect to but a singleembodiment thereof, it is apparent that various changes andmodifications of the construction are possible within the scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A container having a flexible imperforate closure adjacent an endthereof, said closure having an integral flange extending toward saidend of the container, sealing means bonding said flange to the containerwall, and a plane rigid closure spaced within said flange between saidend of the container and said flexible closure and being in spacedrelation to said flexible closure and held in position by a deformedportion of the container.

2. A cylindrical container having a flexible imperforate closure discadjacent an end thereof, said closure having an integral annular flangeextending toward said end of the container, sealing means bonding saidflange to the inner wall of the container, and a plane rigid closuredisc spaced between said end of the container and said flexible closuredisc and being in spaced relation to said flexible closure and held inposition by a deformed portion of the container, said rigid disc beingfrusto conical in contour with its base surface facing outwardly of thecontainer and its edge bearing against said flange.

3. A container having a flexible imperforate closure adjacent an endthereof, said closure having an integral flange extending toward saidend of the container, sealing means bonding said flange to the containerwall, a plane rigid closure spaced between said end of the container andsaid flexible closure and being in spaced relation to said flexibleclosure and held in position by a deformed portion of the container,said rigid closure having a vent aperture therein and a rigid covermember overlying the outer surface of the rigid closure member andcovering said vent,

said cover member being frictionally held against a:

the deformed portion of the container and the margin of said rigidclosure bearing against said flange.

4. A cylindrical container having a flexible imperforate closure discadjacent an end thereof, said disc having an integral flange extendingtoward said end of the container, sealing means bonding said flange tothe container wall, a plane rigid closure disc spaced between said endof the container and said flexible closure disc and being in spacedrelation to said flexible closure and held in position by a deformedportion of the container, said rigid disc having a vent aperture thereinand a rigid cover disc overlying the outer surface of the rigid closuredisc and covering said vent, said cover disc being frictionally heldagainst the deformed portion of the container and the margin of saidrigid closure disc bearing against said flange.

5. A cylindrical container having a flexible imperforate closure discadjacent an end thereof. said closure having an integral flangeextending toward said end of the container, sealing means bonding saidflange to the container wal the area of said disc being greater than thecross sectional area of the container at the plane of the disc and aplane rigid closure disc spaced between said end of the container andsaid flexible closure and being in spaced relation to said flexibleclosure and held in position by a spun over portion of the container.

6. A cylindrical container having a closure disc of flexible imperforateparchment adjacent one end thereof, said closure having an integralannular flange extending toward said end of the container, sealing meansbonding said flange to said container and defining an fillet at themargin of the closure disc extending in a direction opposite to thedirection of the flange, a plane rigid closure disc marginally engagingthe flange of the parchment disc and lying between said parchment discand said end of the container and being in spaced relation to saidparchment disc, a spun over portion of the container serving to holdsaid rigid disc in position, said rigid disc having a vent aperturetherein and a rigid cover disc marginally bearing against said spun overportion and having a face bearing against the outer face of said rigidclosure disc.

7. A cylindrical container as claimed in ciaim 2 further characterizedby said flexible imperforate closure disc being made of cellophane.

8. A cylindrical container having a flexible imperforate closure discadjacent an end thereof, said closure having an integral annular flangeextending toward said end of the container, said closure having anover-all area in excess of the cross-sectional area of the saidcontainer, sealing means bonding said flange to the inner wall of thecontainer, and a plane rigid closure disc spaced between said end of thecontainer and said flexible closure disc and being in spaced relation tosaid flexible closure disc and held in position by a deformed portion ofthe container, said rigid disc being frusto conical in contour with itsbase surface facing outwardly of the container and its edge bearingagainst said flange.

JOHN KEARSLEY M. HARRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,230,987 Karl Feb 4, 19412,261,621 Harrison Nov. 4, 1941 2,356,194 Arner Aug. 22, 1944'.2,371,630 Liebmann Mar. 20, 1945 2,378,470 Di Cosmo June 19, 1945FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date l30, 110 Great Britain July 24,1919v

